Fostoria hopes to control pace of game against powerful Otsego

Fostoria at Otsego Records: Fostoria 1-3, 0-1 Northern Buckeye Conference; Otsego 3-1, 1-0 Northern Buckeye Conference. Last year: Otsego won 35-22. Outlook: Last week's final score shows a lopsided loss, but Fostoria coach Derek Angelone thinks it really shows the result of a sub-par half. Trailing 14-0 at intermission, a score Angelone probably should have been 7-7, the Redmen stumbled while Genoa got better in what became a runaway. It's been a familiar problem for Fostoria this year, even in the team's lone win, Angelone said. "We're still chasing that full game …, just trying to put together an entire game," he said. "I think this team knows what they're capable of, it's just that we've got to put an entire game together." The next chance for that comes Friday at Otsego. Angelone said the Knights are methodic, but anything but easy to stop. "You know what to expect out of them. That coaching staff is phenomenal, they always have answers for your answers," he said. "They might run 11 to 15 different offensive plays total that we've seen so far in four games, but those 11 to 15 plays are something that they feel comfortable doing," he said. "They know that they might not win on every single play, but they're going to get their gash plays, they're going to hit their plays, so we have to be extremely disciplined and say, 'Hey, if we lose a play, it's just a play' and continue to fight." The Redmen's keys this week are to continue to control the pace of the game, like they did last week against Genoa, while overcoming any adversity and not dwelling on it. "There's going to be times when they win a play," Angelone said. "They might win a drive, they might win a series, they might win on a special teams play, they might win (situations). But we have to win more than they do." Lakota at Hopewell-Loudon Records: Lakota 1-3, 0-1 Sandusky Bay Conference River Division; Hopewell-Loudon 4-0, 1-0 Sandusky Bay Conference River Division. Last year: Hopewell-Loudon won 39-7. Outlook: Friday marks the halfway point of the regular season and unbeaten Hopewell-Loudon seems to have racked up a season's worth of experience. Late scores, airing it out, grinding it out, making defensive stands, scoring twice on defense, overcoming last week's 14-0 halftime deficit — it's all helped make the Chieftains better for the next game and the games to follow, coach Brian Colatruglio said. "We've played four really good teams, four different teams, and the nice thing is we've had to win different ways," he said. "There's just a lot of experiences and a lot of situations our kids have been put in. All of those things down the road are going to pay off. There's not a whole lot we haven't seen or had to do already," he said. "We're only four games in, so I think that experience and situations we've been in and overcome and the way we've had to win is going to pay off big time for us down the road." The next step down the road comes in Friday's home game — H-L's third in a row — against Lakota. Coach Ryan Lozier said the challenge awaiting his Raiders is more than just a talented team. "Obviously they have some dudes that can play, but also, what adds to their athletic ability is just how disciplined they are," he said of the Chieftains. "They do things right, over and over again and kind of wear you down. That's what I told our kids we're trying to get to. We're kind of lacking that in areas. "Overall, I think you've got to play a good, clean football game because they're going to do things right every play," Lozier said. Jacoby Ellis (679 yards, 4 TDs passing) and Kellen Frankart (117 yards, 1 TD passing; 211 yards, 2 TDs rushing) have shared quarterback duties for H-L this year, with Ellis focusing on the passing. Braylon Martinez has again served as a focal point of the offense, rushing for 368 yards and six scores while catching 18 passes for 216 yards and three more TDs. Meanwhile, Jack Colatruglio (TD) leads all the receivers with 26 catches and 343 yards, with Evan Eilrich (10-90) and Matt Wyman (8-71, 1 TD) adding depth. Hopewell-Loudon also has playmakers on defense. Eleven Chieftains enter Friday with double-digit tackle totals, with H-L allowing just over 86 yards passing and 105 yards rushing per game. "We're strong at all three levels. I really like our defense," coach Colatruglio said. "The other side of that is, three of the four teams we've played are really run-oriented, big, physical football teams, so we've faced a lot of rushing attempts." Mason Reinhart (37) and Will Nutter (31) each have more than 30 tackles, with Reinhart adding three sacks and Nutter tallying two. Brayden Brickman isn't far behind with 27 tackles and two fumble recoveries, and Nutter and Jack Colatruglio (2 interceptions) have each scored a defensive touchdown. That defense goes up against a pass-heavy offense. The Raiders average just over 234 yards through the air while running for 66 yards per game. The aerial game comes with the counter that Lakota has already thrown 11 interceptions this year against six TD passes. "I still like our skill guys. I'm still confident in our skill guys and I think our guys have to keep getting used to the speed of varsity football," Lozier said. "It's Week 5 and we should be, but I don't know if we've seen a team the caliber of Hopewell yet. Our guys are going to have to match their attitude and their speed and give it their best shot." Calvert at Gibsonburg Records: Calvert 3-1, 1-0 SBC River; Gibsonburg 2-2, 0-1 SBC River Last year: Calvert, 42-25. Outlook: Calvert has to be road warriors again this week. After a 28-0 win at Lakota last Friday, the Senecas hit the road again, this time at Gibsonburg – a team that had Hopewell-Loudon on the ropes last week with a 14-0 lead at the half. It ultimately lost 27-14 to the Chieftains, but the Golden Bears are formidable. "Gibsonburg is always a tough opponent to go against just because they're really good at what they do offensively," Calvert coach Mike Lento said. "(Camden) Mooney has done a great job at quarterback for them, they have Grant Smith and (Reese) Walby in the backfield and other athletic guys on the perimeter, so they have a lot of guys back. We need to step up this week and play assignment football." Defense has been the bright spot for the Senecas the past few weeks, not allowing a touchdown. "We had some guys return on defense and they've been playing aggressive and they're in the right position to be successful," Lento said of his defense. "They're playing fast and physical, those types of things and they're doing their job, their 1/11th." The plan is to try to slow down Smith (70 carries, 359 yards, 3 TDs) and Walby (44 carries, 350 yards, 5 TDs) for the Golden Bears. While the Calvert offense is certainly still a work in progress, the run game has been the constant, led by senior back Cal Warnement. Through four games, Warnement has 105 carries for 516 yards and six scores. Freshman QB Tucker Coleman has thrown for 426 yards with three TDs and three picks. "It's no secret things start up front for us. We have to sustain those blocks and we want to control the clock as much as we can," Lento said. "Tucker Coleman is doing what we ask of him, we just need to give him some simple throws and reads early in the game to get him settled and for him to see success early. That way when teams load the box, we can put the ball in our athletes hands at wide receiver and that includes Nolan Lee and even Cameron Lucius in the backfield too. We have guys buying into their roles and we just need to continue to do what we do."